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Making the Metaverse Matter

Event Summary

Metaverse is not a new concept but is increasingly in the news recently—for both positive and negative reasons. There are certainly some tremendous successes (popularity and financial) of metaverse technologies and models in online gaming, and some early successes in other areas of entertainment, but widespread adoption has not happened and there are some notable failures as well. Will the ongoing advances in technologies—from performance and visual quality to miniaturization and power efficiency—including new releases from tech giants Sony and (expected) Apple help overcome the remaining barriers? Do metaverse technologies, including spatial organization and navigation of information and artificial environments, have significant enterprise and/or consumer benefits? Can we make the metaverse matter? Join us for a conversation about the potential use cases and the challenges of metaverse technologies and applications with three leading metaverse experts: Ahna Boley of Double A Labs, Hrish Lotlikar of SuperWorld, and Finn Staber of Chicken Waffle. We will discuss the current state and expected innovations and applications in metaverse technologies and uses. There will be ample time for audience questions, and then networking with the speakers and attendees. And, as always, one lucky in-person attendee will win a badge for SXSW 2024, at which it is sure to (again) be lots of programming (pro and con) about the metaverse!

Speakers

  • Ahna Boley

    Ahna Boley

    Chief Experience Officer,Double A Labs

    Ahna is a founding member of Double A Labs. Having started as a producer, she worked her way to becoming the Chief Experience Officer (CXO). Focusing on the day-to-day of the SaaS platform, Double A, she has helped shape the innovation behind the metaverse world builder application, and partner integrations, as well as overseeing the Customer Success team who are the masterminds that make a brands’ experience in the metaverse successful. Let her show you how to build a thriving digital community that fosters loyal relationships and boosts product sales.

  • Hrish Lotlikar

    Hrish Lotlikar

    Co-Founder & CEO, SuperWorld

    Hrish is a Co-founder and CEO at SuperWorld. Previously, he co-founded Rogue Initiative Studios (partnered with director Michael Bay), a Hollywood film, TV, gaming, and immersive entertainment studio. He was also the founding Managing Partner of Eastlabs, an early-stage VC fund based in Kyiv, Ukraine. Previously, Hrish was a Senior Business Developer and Global Evangelist at Toptal (backed by Andreessen Horowitz, the Rockefellers & the co-founders of Facebook and Zynga), a venture capital investor at Spencer Trask Ventures, and an investment banker at both UBS Investment Bank and HSBC Securities, where he specialized in public finance, corporate finance, and M&A. He also was an Associate in the Global Business Development Group at management consulting firm Hewitt Associates.

    Hrish was born in India and grew up in the United States. He also has spent many years living around the world in Europe, Asia, and South America. He has a close connection to the people and cultures in Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Spain, France, Vietnam, China, Colombia, Bali, and Thailand.

    Hrish holds a BA in Political Science from Rice University and both an MBA and MPH from the University of Illinois at Chicago. In his free time, he enjoys working out, fashion photography, and traveling the world.

  • Finn Staber

    Finn Staber

    Founder, Programmer, Designer, Chicken Waffle

    Game Programmer/Designer with a diverse background in Visual FX, Animation, 3D Art, Level Design, and Blockchain/NFT solutions. Primary focus on building advanced player controls for cross-platform games, and multiplayer eSports using cutting-edge VR and AR technology. Enjoys creating funny interactive experiences, and donates much of his free time to helping others.

    Finn has launched multiple successful tech companies and has developed award-winning video games, interactive educational content, digital marketing experiences, and cyber-security solutions. He is the Founder of Chicken Waffle, and Co-Founder of WaveXR and Failed To Render. He has helped many studios ramp up, and has consulted for some of the leading technology developers in the world. He has worked with several Fortune 500 companies to help them build R&D efforts for XR. His experience with agile teamwork allows him to communicate well with other developers, and his experience as a decorated combat veteran of the US Army instilled the ability to work hard to accomplish difficult tasks.

    Finn has worked as a voice actor for multiple games, animated cartoons, and commercials. He enjoys networking with other skilled developers and hacking the latest technologies/hardware to create awesome fun experiences. He has often volunteered his free time to teach game development workshops at numerous local schools and universities and has helped organize developer meetups for the Austin Unity group, AR/VR Tools & Tech, and Austin Game Devs (IGDA Austin).

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